The Fermi Paradox and the Aurora Effect: Exo-civilization Settlement, Expansion, and Steady States
@article{CarrollNellenback2019TheFP, title={The Fermi Paradox and the Aurora Effect: Exo-civilization Settlement, Expansion, and Steady States}, author={Jonathan J. Carroll-Nellenback and Adam Frank and Jason T. Wright and Caleb A. Scharf}, journal={The Astronomical Journal}, year={2019}, volume={158} }
We model the settlement of the Galaxy by space-faring civilizations in order to address issues related to the Fermi Paradox. We are motivated to explore the problem in a way that avoids assumptions about the agency (i.e., questions of intent and motivation) of any exo-civilization seeking to settle other planetary systems. We begin by considering the speed of an advancing settlement front to determine if the Galaxy can become inhabited with space-faring civilizations on timescales shorter than…
23 Citations
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